Mass Shootings and Terrorist Attacks Cannot Be the New Normal
In the year 2017 alone, there have been 1,022 terrorist attacks around the world.
Mass shootings and terrorists attacks should not be like car accidents; this cannot be the new normal.
On Sunday October 1, 2017, the largest massacre in the modern history of the United States occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada at a Jason Aldean concert. The shooter, Stephen Paddock, age 64, began shooting out of his hotel window on the 32rd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel towards the crowd of 22,000.
At least 59 people have died so far, including the shooter himself, and over 500 are injured.
Where were you when this horrific event took place? Do you remember the exact place you were in when you found out about the news? What did you think, or say or do?
I’m sure your thoughts were something like this: Oh wow, this is horrible. Who could do something like this? All those innocent people just trying to enjoy a concert and have a nice night.
What is going on with this world?
But then I bet you went on about your day and continued to get ready for work or go back to running errands. Because lately, terrorists attacks and mass shootings have become normalized in our society.
Yes, these events still come as a shock to us and are still tragic situations that rock our nation. However, time doesn’t stop for them anymore. The ones who are not affected directly, keep going about their days. This is not okay.
We as a nation and as humanity cannot allow for murders and attacks to become part of our daily lives. We cannot be living our lives in fear of another attack from ISIS or from a 64 year-old lunatic.
I was just 5 years old when the tragic event of 9/11 happened. I am one of the last groups of children who can cognitively remember that day. Many people born after 1996 had to learn about this day through their parents as they grew older or even through classroom discussions.
And still, some of the children that were my age during 2001, have no recollection of that day. But I do.
I remember I was sitting on my couch watching The Flintstones and waiting to go to Kindergarten when my mom ran into the living room and changed the channel to the news.
I saw two giant buildings on fire, smoke was everywhere. I heard people in the background of the newscasters screaming and I saw the crowds running like a herd of scared cattle.
I watched the first tower in a mushroom of black smoke and saw the look of extreme horror on my mom’s face when the second tower was also hit on live television. The entire nation stood and watched in absolute horror, disgust and fear.
Now, as a child, I may not have fully understood what was happening just a mere 50 miles away from my home on Long Island, in a city I would grow up to love very much, but as I saw my mother crying, I knew that something terrible had happened.
The world literally stopped. Airports shut down, people didn’t leave their homes and kids, including my older sister, were taken out of school early to be as safe as possible at home with their families.
Everyone was watching the news and every American’s life was affected that day even if they weren’t at the site of the tower’s crashing or the Pentagon being hit.
Schools offered counseling services to students and people spoke about this terrorist attack for months.
But in just the year 2017 alone, there have been 1,022 terrorist attacks around the world. And every time another one occurs, it’s less surprising than the previous instance.
This is sickening.
What does it mean for humanity when massacres and terrorism are simply a part of daily life? How can we stop these attacks? How can we come together and eradicate the hate that spills over this world like the blood of those wounded in these attacks?
This world needs to change. It needs to change for the better, it needs to change now and we need to be the ones to change it.
Because if we don’t, who will?
Kayla Keller is an intern with Blooming Twig and studies Linguistics, English and Writing at Stony Brook University.
